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Contemplative Reading
Part 3 Contemplative Study - Exploring Meaning
What does the passage mean? Ask questions and make observations about the text. Stay with just the literal meaning. Avoid meaning as it relates to your life. Simply consider what you think the passage is saying.
There are two ways here that you can approach the question of meaning of the text: You can turn to commentaries about the text.
You can stay with the question and make suppositions about the meaning. Each method has value. If this is the first time you have worked with a passage, or if you haven't worked with the passage in a long time, focus on the second option, the meaning of the passage that seems to be so from your own understanding. You are not looking for a "right" interpretation, an authoritative directive, but exploring what your own mind understands to be important. This will reveal what is most valuable for you given your previous experience and your current needs.
Contemplative Study Compilation - @ 2007 Mary Rees
Contemplative Reading Schedule inspired by applications of Lectio Divino: ancient method of scripture reading used by Christian monastics, contemporary preparation strategy for Roman Catholic homilists, and Greg Kramer's adaptation for Dharma Contemplation.
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